I just wanted to say, when you are a fan of Mayday/Air Emergency and Seconds from Disaster, having watched (and remembered) most of their series...And then, suddenly, you have to fly somewhere, for the first time in ~30 years

It makes for... unique experience. I can say, "all those episodes flashed before my eyes" during lift-off, heh.

Related: Punta Cana airport has such a rustic feel (helped by all the airport buildings roofs being made of palm leaves).At least I got a chance to observe the most powerful aircraft engine almost at an arm's length.

Heh... I tend to marathon a decent amount of episodes (atleast in my head) usually a week prior if I need to fly somewhere (usually the USA, so cross Atlantic).

Knowing of the episodes doesn't make my expirience any more worrisome than it needs to be for me anyway. I guess it's more or less the knowledge about all the flaws that were found and corrected. Not to say something else couldn't go wrong, but having watched the episodes or not doesn't influence that much.

And then, suddenly, you have to fly somewhere, for the first time in ~30 years Image

Punta Cana airport

Ohh, nice destination at least! And it wasn't even your "Final destination"!

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Heh... I tend to marathon a decent amount of episodes (atleast in my head) usually a week prior if I need to fly somewhere (usually the USA, so cross Atlantic).

Knowing of the episodes doesn't make my expirience any more worrisome than it needs to be for me anyway. I guess it's more or less the knowledge about all the flaws that were found and corrected. Not to say something else couldn't go wrong, but having watched the episodes or not doesn't influence that much.

Ouch, now that is something i just would NOT do. I may not be horribly afraid of flying or anything, but actually watching that kind of stuff before flying could make anyone jumpy(flighty? ).

I'm sure it'll be alright. Airplanes have a great safety statistics. As long as you look at accidents per travel distance that is...

Oh yeah! They had an ocean to swim in and super loud birdies to feed crumbles of an ice-cream cone and duckies in a mangrove park and I even saw a real coconut that fell from a real palm tree! Best vacation ever!Ironically, Dominican Republic was the closest place to Moscow that had charter flights and did not need a visa. Egypt is still blocked due to terrorist treat.

I'm sure it'll be alright. Airplanes have a great safety statistics.

Oh, the return flight was a smooth ride. But on the way there, when we were lifting off from Moscow (the same plane, by the way - I remembered a tiny scuff in the cabin) our Boeing 777-300ER was climbing so hard like its tail was on fire. I really felt acceleration pressing me into my seat - and we were, like, 10 seconds from standing to lift off. The wing was leaving foggy trails worthy of Gainax.Combined with ragged bouts of weightlessness (a very unpleasant feeling I'm still not used to), I just kept remembering that Tu-154 where the captain decided to climb over a big thunderstorm exploiting his plane's unsurpassed ceiling of 13km and thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.35. He overestimated the plane's ability to mimic a rocket, climbed too hard and stalled. Then it was uncontrolled flat spin all the way to the ground, with all 3 engines dead.I just kept hoping that Boeing had safeguards against that >_<

Meh. I'm not afraid of the airplane, I'm grumpy about it. Standing in line for the TSA, then squinching into an overly-cramped seat ... If I were going to be afraid, it was about 1960, landing in New York in a DC-6 in dark and busy air. It was the most fun I've ever had in a plane! There were bits of lightning now and then, the plane was bumping up and down, there were lavender flames coming from the engine exhausts, and below, the lights of a city. Better than a carnival ride, and the seats were bigger back then.

Sure, I feel queasy when looking at some YouTube video of some idiot on a boom-arm of a crane mounted to a skyscraper, or someone doing backflips about 2 inches from an edge that ends with a sidewalk a fair amount of distance below, but just being on a skyscraper or something doesn't do much for me in terms of feeling queasy or unsure of myself. I've stood on the Empire State Building, and could readily enjoy the view without feeling too problematic about it. Sure, looking straight down might still evoke feelings of dread, but there's not that much opportunity to do so on a skyscaper.

A plane gives me the same feeling. Sure, it's noticable that you're leaving the ground upon landing and departing, but the mid-piece of the flight you either see clouds, might see some ground (rarely enough to make out details) or you're over the water. At 30k ft it all looks so far away with so little detail, you might just aswell forget you're on a plane... You can't look straight down, and even if you do, there's nothing down there allowing for a sense of scale to indicate how high up you are.

As to forgetting about being on a plane... well, other than the too small chairs, the kids, possibly crying babies, the awkward position if you want to sleep, the dry mouth due to the AC and climate control going on, and the food that (besides being 'not the best' tasting - which is also partly due to the climate control/pressure/altitude apparently) you have to eat with your arms tucked in (to not bother any people in the seats next to you) and have little choice over what you get served (usually only 2 choices).

I remember a poster of a flight in the 60's with some people sitting around a table, in broad seats drinking champagne or something, captioned: 'Could you imagine where we'd be in 50 years?'

Granted, it wasn't that great in the 60s either going from that article, but at the least you're not crammed into a plane like nowadays. Well, I'm crammed in. I tend to need to figure out what to do with my legs as normally sitting would put my knees in the seat in front of me, so I need to stretch them out under the seat in front of me. I'm fairly broad so I always have to conciously tuck in my elbows to prevent poking my neighbor, and I constantly have issues with the armrest (which holds the remote for the on board entertainment, the buttons for the reclining, reading light and whatnot) on account of the seat being _just_ wide enough to accomodate my @$$. So my legs are always up against the armrests. Yeah, I know I could possibly stand to loose some weight, but everything is just about the bare minimum of what I'd need. Only way to make my flight more comfy, is to upgrade from economy class to business class or something. But financially that's usually a decent gap... which is why they keep calling it economy I guess.

Nope. That's 100% pilot. And that -154 would probably have been fine if the pilot had taken things just a little bit more careful.

Oh yeah! They had an ocean to swim in and super loud birdies to feed crumbles of an ice-cream cone and duckies in a mangrove park and I even saw a real coconut that fell from a real palm tree! Best vacation ever!

Oh, the return flight was a smooth ride. But on the way there, when we were lifting off from Moscow (the same plane, by the way - I remembered a tiny scuff in the cabin) our Boeing 777-300ER was climbing so hard like its tail was on fire. I really felt acceleration pressing me into my seat - and we were, like, 10 seconds from standing to lift off. The wing was leaving foggy trails worthy of Gainax.

Yeah, modern mediumsized passenger planes are waaayy better today than last time i flew, MUCH more extra power to spare, to the point where even losing HALF the engine output during take-off isn't a near automatic pancake splat. Which in turn instead is normally used to get through the takeoff ASAP, as that is the single most dangerous part of a flight, as well as the single most fuel intensive part, and then almost as ASAP, get to cruising altitude and speed where fuel usage is drastically better.

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It was the most fun I've ever had in a plane! There were bits of lightning now and then, the plane was bumping up and down, there were lavender flames coming from the engine exhausts, and below, the lights of a city. Better than a carnival ride, and the seats were bigger back then.

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I remember a poster of a flight in the 60's with some people sitting around a table, in broad seats drinking champagne or something, captioned: 'Could you imagine where we'd be in 50 years?'

Oh yes, the era of luxurious and comfortable flying. The time in which the Concorde and Tu-144 were created as a mere "next level" extension to the normal, in part to replace the expected need for "sleeper" airplanes(ie with most passengers in beds).Instead today the standard is "crammed like sardines".

and I constantly have issues with the armrest (which holds the remote for the on board entertainment, the buttons for the reclining, reading light and whatnot)

Last time i flew, stuff like that didn't exist. 80s. Early/mid 80s. Although it was pretty cool to be allowed into the cockpit, thanks to the guy i was flying with was an employee of the airline(went to Spanish coastline resort for 3 weeks, awesome!).

Yes. 3 seats left side, 4 seats in the middle, 3 seats right side. With 48 rows I think it's about 450+ people (some rows are incomplete).

(which holds the remote for the on board entertainment,

What "on board entertainment", LOL. The armrest between the seats only had one button, for raising it, and I failed to solve the mystery of reclining. I just sat there for 11 hours, sleeping mostly, got twisted into a stiff pretzel in the end.

and the food that (besides being 'not the best' tasting - which is also partly due to the climate control/pressure/altitude apparently) you have to eat with your arms tucked in

Also, being fed twice during the flight is an extra service, costing $7, and choosing your seat (I wanted one at a window) $37 more (VAT included).

something, captioned: 'Could you imagine where we'd be in 50 years?'

LOL. On the other hand, it is affordable now.

It was the most fun I've ever had in a plane! There were bits of lightning [...] lavender flames coming from the engine exhausts,

Yeah, modern mediumsized passenger planes are waaayy better today

It wasn't medium-sized. It was a monster with 300+ tonnes takeoff weight, most other planes' tails below our wing. Each of its two bus-sized engines have 50 tonnes of thrust, as I learned later, so TWR is still ~0.3

It wasn't medium-sized. It was a monster with 300+ tonnes takeoff weight, most other planes' tails below our wing.

We-ell, compared to A380 which has another 200t greater MTOW than the 777ER, or the Boeing 747 which is right in between the two...

But alright, it's mediumsized HEAVY passenger liner.

Yes. 3 seats left side, 4 seats in the middle, 3 seats right side. With 48 rows I think it's about 450+ people (some rows are incomplete).

It's supposed to have a 396 regular limit, but that's with a dual class setup and the exit limit is 550 so i wouldn't be surprised if they squeezed in some more seats in charter setup.

What "on board entertainment", LOL. The armrest between the seats only had one button, for raising it, and I failed to solve the mystery of reclining. I just sat there for 11 hours, sleeping mostly, got twisted into a stiff pretzel in the end.

Ouch...

Always try to get up and move at least a little bit every now and then if you can. Optimally you never sit still for more than 30 minutes, but it can start getting unhealthy after 1-2 hours. Alternatively, you can try doing some leg muscle exercise regularly, not as good as moving around and real stretching, but drastically better than just sitting still.

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Never been on a plane, and I dunno if I'd be able to get myself on one.

I'm glad they didn't have these air crash programs on TV when I flew to Britain in '92 via Nation Air - a company known colloquially as Nation Scare, because of rumors of unsafe air planes and a crash in Saudi Arabia in '91.

The plane I was on was an old 747 and there were obvious signs of maintenance issues inside the cabin - wear on the carpet, lights not working, screws missing from panels, the stewardess having to hold the cupboard for the drinks cart closed during take off...Pre-boarding was a bit ominous as at check-in my flight was the only one on the departure board without a destination.

However, we did arrive at Gatwick without problem.

The flight back to Vancouver a month later was without incident - though the movie projector was broken - this in the days when there was only one screen per seating section. At least the music selector worked (not that the choice was that great)

Most flights I've been on since then have been fine, though in '97 on a flight back from Toronto we made an unscheduled stop in Edmonton and had to change planes as there had been a problem with one of the engines on the 727-200 and the pilot didn't think we'd make it over the Rockies. I'm glad he made that decision. Though he was out of a job two weeks later as the the airline, Greyhound Air, closed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_Air

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